Drinks and Dancing
by TheLittleLight
Summary: Tenten is forced to attend a ball and she'll just have to find a way to amuse herself. Neji's not too happy with her choice.  I may or may not add to this, but we'll call it completed for now.


Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

I don't own anything.

Tenten leaned against the bar with a martini in her hand. She watched the couples waltz across the floor, more than a few leaned in to steal a kiss from their partner. Seeing all of this, Tenten couldn't help but feel bitterness, envy and just a twinge of joy. She gulped the last of her drink and waved to the bartender for a refill.

Tsunade decided that it might be fun to hold a ball in honor of the Suna ninjas who aided Konoha once again in claiming victory. While most people weren't particularly against is, Tsunade made sure all Jounins attended to encourage any Chunnins and Genins to come along as well. _It's gonna be a long night._

'How come you're not dancing?'

Tenten turned to the direction of the voice and saw a grinning Kankuro. Yeah, she definitely liked him much better without the face paint. He was actually really handsome without it. 'I could say the same to you,' she replied.

'Eh, dancing's not really my thing,' he said as he sat in the stool beside her and watched the dance floor.

'Well, it's not really mine either.'

'You one of those girls who only dance with "the one"?'

She couldn't help but laugh when she said, 'I might be.' It could have been the alcohol but she was finding this exchange very amusing. Kankuro might be an entertaining companion for the night. _Maybe I'll sit back and watch where this goes. This might actually be a good night._

'Would you be willing to make an exception? The ball _is_ in honor of the Suna ninjas.' He pointed to himself as he said "Suna" and made a very comical gesture with his eyebrows, not too different from the kind Gai did. It was obvious that he was trying to cheer her up but only as a friend. She returned his grin and he offered his arm.

_Okay, maybe I am drunk. I can't believe I'm gonna go dancing._ Her insides were feeling ticklish and she felt a giggle escape her lips.

Even Kankuro realized that he had never seen this side of her before. _She is kind of cute, _he thought.

He led her to the floor and a few people turned their heads to take a peek at the odd couple but they didn't pay too much attention. The next song was about to begin and it was going to be upbeat. Excitement spread throughout the crowd as Tenten and Kankuro felt the music bubbling up from their feet.

They twirled around the room, laughing and having fun as they did so. Both were oblivious to the white eyes glaring at them from along the walls. Neji knew he would regret coming to this event but his manners forced him to attend. What he didn't realize was that he could feel so much jealousy. It was ridiculous and inexcusable that he should feel this way by just watching as Kankuro's hand slipped from her back to her waist. Worst of all was that she was letting him. She carried on and smiled; she didn't seem to realize the inappropriate position of his hand.

He tried to focus his attention elsewhere but no matter where he looked around the room, his eyes always returned to the couple. _Why hasn't this song finished yet? Why are they still dancing? Why are his hands still on her?_ The question he was afraid to ask himself was '_Why is this bothering me so much?_'

'Why don't you just ask her to dance?'

Neji's attention was diverted and faced Kiba who was standing next to him with a hand held out offering him a glass of wine. 'Hn.' Neji took the glass and motioned thanks to his friend and forced himself to focus on Kiba, not the dancers.

'She can't wait forever, you know. She's pretty, she's nice, she's loyal; she's a lot of things that you want in a woman. If you weren't her sparring partner, she'd would probably have a lot of guys by now,' Kiba stated.

He wasn't saying anything new. Neji was aware that Tenten was a catch but he never put much thought into it. _She's a friend and nothing more, why should I have these feelings now?_ He took a sip of the wine, grateful for the mild burn in his throat. He welcomed anything that kept his mind off her, even for a millisecond. She seemed to be the only thing occupying it for the last few weeks.

Realizing that the Hyuga would not be replying soon, Kiba continued. 'Any day now, she'll snag a man, and then they'll be going on dates. She'll have less time for you. Your friendship would definitely get strained. Eventually, you'll only see each other once, maybe twice a month. You might be away on missions so the months get longer. Who knows what will happen when you're away.'

Neji knew that Kiba was teasing him and that everything he was saying was _highly_ improbable, but he had to admit there was something tugging in the back of his mind. While it is incredibly improbable, there was a chance it would happen.

Kiba took one look at Neji's face. His face was still neutral but there was no doubt that his mind was racing. _Geez, how dense can a genius get?_ He would have to take it that one step further.

'I bet she would be a great wife,' Kiba added nonchalantly.

Upon hearing this, Neji felt something in his mind had snapped. All the questions he refused to ask himself planted themselves at the forefront of his consciousness and insisted on being answered.

_She's going to be someone's wife._

_I can't let that happen._

_Why not?_

_I don't know._

_That seems a bit irrational don't you think?_

_Yes, it does._

_You can't expect her to _never_ get married._

_I know that._

_Why _don't _you want her to be married?_

_ Because…_

Neji's mind seemed to freeze at this. Kiba watched Neji's face in amusement. The mental warfare was evident on his face and it was very rare that he got the chance to see prodigy confused.

_Because…_

Kiba started to lose his patience and decided to give Neji one more push in the right direction.

'You know, the turnout tonight was actually a lot better than Tsunade-sama expected. You're probably bored out of your brains, so I can cover for you. You can go ahead and take Tenten home. She would probably prefer being alone with you than be here.' With a wink, he took Neji's empty glass and walked away. _If it's taking you this long, I'm going to start doubting that you deserve her._ He took one last glance at Tenten who was sitting at the bar. _You owe me one, Hyuga._

_Because... I want her to be with _me_…?_

Comprehension dawned on him and he had the sudden urge to tell her. He made his way to the bar where Kankuro, Tenten and now Gaara were staying. Kankuro and Tenten were doing all of the talking while Gaara sat quietly listening, still part of the conversation.

'Oh, hey, Neji.' Tenten smiled at him. Her cheeks were flushed but her speech was fine. The alcohol was definitely affecting her because it appeared she lost the ability to hold back a giggle. Not that anyone was complaining.

Neji nodded an acknowledgement to the sand ninjas before he said to Tenten that he needed to speak with her. She finished her drink and left with him, sending a quick wave goodbye to the boys who kept her company for the night.

Kankuro and Gaara watched the two leave while Kiba slipped into the seat Tenten previously occupied motioning to the bartender for a drink. Kiba raised the glass to his lips and said, 'I think that went well. But man, can Hyuga be slow.'

The sand ninjas chuckled and Kankuro commented, 'at least Tenten was easier to work with. She's actually really cute, don't you think?' The others nodded in agreement.

Kankuro lifted his glass for a toast, 'To a job well done,'

'For flawless execution,' Kiba added.

'To cute girls,'

'And to dumbass boys; a toast.' With this, the three touched glasses and sipped their drinks, highly amused.

Soon, a comfortable silence fell around them as they observed the dancers on the floor once again. After a while, Gaara spoke for the first time that evening, 'Twenty bucks says Hyuga gets laid tonight.'

I thought it might be cute if boys did the matchmaking. After all, I find boys' love advice SO much more helpful than girls'. I suggest everyone get love advice from the opposite sex. :D Thanks for all the reviews in my other stories, it's really encouraging :3 !


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